- Blows whistle on claims of unified regional stance
BY ONYEKACHUKWU IBEZIM – Governor Alex Otti of Abia State has publicly distanced himself from remarks by Imo State Governor Hope Uzodimma claiming that all five south-east governors have reached a consensus to back President Bola Tinubu’s second term bid come 2027 general elections
Boldly rejecting the so-called endorsement of President Tinubu’s re-election as announced by Governor Uzodimma, the Abia Chief Executive said no governor has the authority to speak for the South-East geo-political zone.
“The governor of Imo State said something about re-electing the president, but I’m not sure it is right to say that” Mr Otti said, adding that at no point was such a unanimous position taken by the South-East governors.
Otti, who shattered the illusion of a united South-East during his monthly media briefing held in Umuahia, the Abia State capital on Thursday, July 23, said Uzodimma was free to speak for himself but had no authority to speak for every governor in the region.
According to Governor Ott, “As a governor and as an individual, he can’t speak for every governor” given that he was not given such mandate to say so despite holding the position as Chairman of the South-East Governors’ Forum (SEGF)
The Imo State Governor, while citing what he described as the President’s unprecedented commitment to the development of the region through landmark infrastructure and economic initiatives, had declared: “We, the five governors of the South-East, have reviewed all options and decided that we will work with President Bola Tinubu because we want to be part of the Project Nigeria.”
However, pushing back on Uzodimma’s claims of a unified position on President Tinubu’s second term bid, Governor Otti insisted people in the region will take their decision at the appropriate time.
He maintained that his Imo State counterpart can only express his personal support for Mr President’s re-election and cannot speak on behalf of other South East governors or the people, stressing: “I am sure there is an appropriate time when people will take their decision.”
Also clarifying his position on the President Mr Tinubu-led administration, Otti acknowledged that some of the policies are working, adding: “Let’s also say something here. This is a government, and a government sees all the work from the national level to the sub-national level and even to the corporate level. Like I said the other day, there are a lot of policies that I have supported, even as a private citizen before I became the governor of the state.”
Furthermore, he defended the current administration’s economic reforms, attributing the hardship in the country to years of poor economic decisions.
